By Dennis Jarvis

An important addition to the Medicare supplement market was the advent of the High Deductible F plan. As health insurance agents across all segments, Individual, Small Group, and Medicare supplement, we’ve been big fans of high deductibles for many years now. It went along with our belief that health insurance was increasingly becoming a question of insuring the really big bill and self-insuring the smaller bills as rates continued to increase ad infinitum. We’re a little more hesitant with the high deductible F Medigap plan and we’ll explain further. If anything, it’s important to understand what were gaining and losing in both situations. Let the comparing begin!

First, a quick look at the standard trade-off. The F plan is pretty much the bulwark of the Medicare supplement world. It’s by far the most popular and generally stands as the most comprehensive Medigap plan with coverage for the core holes in Medicare such as deductibles, co-insurance, and maybe most importantly, excess. The high deductible option is an F plan with a high deductible built in. Medicare will still pay accordingly but you must meet the deductibles and 20% coinsurance until the deductible is met. Of course, the premium is much lower as a result of this high deductible. The pricing is affected by age and area of course but as an example, we’ll consider a premium difference of $100/monthly versus a deductible of $2000. This is a pretty good baseline on the market. So essentially, we’re talking $1200 annual savings versus $2000 deductible. It’s gets a little better on the side of the deductible since you’re realistically looking at roughly a $1200 hospital deductible and $150 for physician costs, after which you’ll pay 20% of the charges. You won’t really hit the $2K deductible unless you have really big bills in a calendar year. On the surface, this isn’t a bad trade off. If you don’t big health issues, you’re going to save $1200 and maybe you’ll incur under $600 annually in a good year. If you have a really bad year, you’re out of pocket $800 versus the straight F plan. That’s what we’re looking at $1200 in savings in a perfect year versus spending an extra $800 in a really bad year. Sounds great, right?

Obviously, if you have more serious health issues (or history), the high deductible isn’t a great option from the start. You’ll be paying an extra $800 each year above what you would pay on the straight F Medigap plan. Here’s the issue. At age 65, you are entering a period of life in which medical care usage and expense skyrockets. As it is, a person’s health care costs double with every decade of their life on average. This really accelerates over age 65. Our hats go off to all the 65 year olds who eat healthfully and attend yoga and Pilates regularly but many expensive health care concerns are in spite of healthy living for the over 65 age band. If you’ve lapse the gym membership or love donuts, then let’s be honest, the costs will likely be much higher. If you were a betting person, putting your money on low health care costs over age 65 is not supported by statistics. You don’t want to take short term gain (premium savings of $1200) versus long term pain (out of pocket of $800 annually). This bring us to another point, if your health changes significantly, it can be impossible to change plans to the traditional F medigap plan in the future. That’s the skinny on the high deductible versus F plan. Of course, we’re happy to walk through your particular situation but you’re now armed with information that can directly affect your future health care expenditure.

About the Author: Dennis Jarvis is a licensed insurance agent concentrating on

medicare supplement insurance

. Find more articles and guidance about

Medicare Medigap

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byAlma Abell

It’s happened to every family. The baby wakes up with a fever on Sunday morning. Junior splits his lip open at a Saturday afternoon little league game. Mom or Dad comes home early from work with a stomach bug. The family’s regular doctor’s office is either closed or fully booked. There are two options. The first is the emergency room. Unfortunately, that choice can result in a long wait time, and an expensive hospital bill. The second option is to visit a Doctor’s Office in Middletown NY that provides urgent care services. Urgent care is a great way to deal with minor medical emergencies.

Urgent care centers are staffed with board certified physicians, nurse practitioners, RNs, and other qualified medical staff. In addition to having personnell available to evaluate at treat patients Orange Urgent Care has the equipment on site to perform x-rays and do lab work. The ability to receive lab results quickly means that doctors can start patients on anti-biotics or other medications immediately. Anyone who has ever suffered from strep throat or an ear infection knows how important this is to getting better quickly.

These days, most families are concerned with keeping their health care costs down. This includes avoiding high co-payments and penalties. Many insurance companies charge a higher co-payment for emergency room visits than for visits to the doctor’s office. In addition to this, there may also be an additional penalty charged if the insurance company determines the visit to the emergency room was not necessary. Fortunately patients who use a Doctor’s Office in Middletown NY for urgent care services are usually only charged the standard doctor’s visit co-payment.

Finally, the issue of convenience should not be overlooked. It is very rare that a doctor’s office schedules appointments on weekends or after five in the evenings. Urgent care centers on the other hand have hours every day of the week, and are able to schedule same day appointments around their customers busy schedules. In addition to this, urgent care medical centers are also able to accept walk-ins.

Families who wish to receive high quality medical care that works around their schedules, and save money should become familiar with their local urgent care office. When small emergencies come up, urgent care centers are the ideal middle ground between the emergency room and the family’s primary care physician.

The Affect Sugar Has on Your Diet by Bob LachinetSugar. It’s in everything these days and it’s not good. This article will provide you with information on how sugar affects your diet and the differences between sugar that’s ok for your diet and the sugar that isn’t. Whether you’re on a diet or just seeking nutritional information, the following information will be beneficial to you.Over the last 25 years, our population has seen a significant increase in obesity. And, part of the reason for this was, amazingly enough the “low-fat” obsession we’ve seen over the last few years. Food manufacturers, in their quest to squeeze as much oil out of processed foods as possible – replace that fat with sugar in order to make reduced-fat foods tastier. Unfortunately, the net result has been an increase in sugar consumption from an average of 123 pounds per year, to an astronomical 160 pounds of sugar annually!And it’s not stopping. Our consumption of sugar keeps growing at nearly 2 percent per year. The problem is, on the spectrum of dietary dangers, processed sugars are right up there with unhealthy fats. And the problem is that our bodies are built to process all the sugar we take in.Most dietary sugars are simple carbohydrates, which means they are made of one or two sugar molecules stuck together. Your body can easily take those molecules, pull them apart and digest them. Complex carbohydrates, such as those found in whole grains, vegetables, and legumes, are made up of long chains of molecules which takes your body longer to process. This is why your energy levels can spike, then crash when you ingest simple carbs, and why that doesn’t happen when you have a plate full of veggies. The presence of naturally occurring fiber in complex carbs slows that sugar-release process even further. So, replacing those “fast burning” sugars with “slow burning” ones allows your body to deal with the sugar you ingest in a much more effective way. But, how can you avoid the craving for “sweets”, and avoid those refined carbs?First, it’s OK to have a little sugar in your diet. The FDA recommends no more than 10 grams per day (which is what you find in one soft drink) – about 2 teaspoons worth. So, if you have a little sugar through the day, that’s OK. But if you feel the urge to eat something sweet, reach for some fruit. Fruits contain fructose – natural sugar, but also contain fiber and other nutrients that slow digestion.Also, stay away from refined- carb breakfast cereals (even unsweetened cereals. Instead, start your morning with healthy proteins & fats, which leave you feeling full longer. Try peanut butter on whole grain English muffins. Maybe a fruit smoothie with protein powder. Remember not to eat when you’re stressed. When you feel stressed, your natural “flight or fight” response causes your body to speed up the breakdown of sugars in your body, because your body is packing glucose into your muscles as fast as it can to help you flee the situation. And, if you’re looking for an easy way to cut back – stop drinking soft drinks, the biggest source of sugar in the American diet today. Instead, try drinking tea – and if you want to sweeten it, try other, non-sugar sources such as Splenda or Stevia. (Stevia is a natural, calorie-free sweetener that comes from a South American shrub – you can find it at Trader Joe’s, or supplement stores in both powder and liquid forms). By moving away from a sugar-rich diet, you are taking a major step in not only feeling healthier, but you’ll also reduce your body fat and loose weight. The sooner we break the addiction to sugar, the better off our bodies will be!Bob Lachinet is the owner of Fitness 4 Home Superstore, a specialty fitness equipment dealer recently named the #1 choice for home fitness equipment in Arizona by BestFitnessDealers.com! Learn more about how sugar can affect your diet – visit our site today.Article Source: eArticlesOnline.com

That is why most people are opting for services of home health care provider to offer top quality care to their grandparents and other relatives. 24 hours home care services for seniorguarantees the highest possible care that they require while also providing physical, social and psychological assistance for them.

1. Personalized and Quality Care

Home health care assistance provides 100% attention and proper care to the elderly. It guarantees individual attention and care in a more personal manner. Personalized one-on-one care allows your senior family members to get the assistance and care that will enhance their lives. Home health care providers will provide all basic needs to every individual, whether it is cleaning, bathing or eating for their best care and wellbeing.

2. Emotional Support and Participation

The seniors thrive on the psychological assistance on their family members. They feel safe and secure in the company of people close to them. Home care services for seniors make it possible to meet their psychological needs in a more customized manner. This allows them to remain close to their family members and prevent them from surrendering to depression.

3. Maximum Convenience and Comfort

24 hours home health care nursing also provides highest possible comfort and convenience to the elderly. Being at home, they can sit on chair they love, enjoy the sunshine in their backyards and enjoy their life to the fullest with their family members. Recuperating at home is less stressful for the senior person that allows them to recover from their sickness and injury rapidly.

4. Relief and Peace of Mind

Suffering and sickness takes a toll on the seniors that can make them lose their peace of mind and sanity. Personalized senior home health care enable them to remain calm in the face of adversity. They can deal with their sicknesses or damage if they are provided with such an effective health care system. This brings them satisfaction and relief from their struggle and allow them to live peacefully

If your beloved is affected by some sickness or damage, you should strongly consider obtaining24 hours private home care services. Look for professional and experienced home care organization near your area that provides highest possible home care and assistance for your seniors beloved.

By Greg Garner

If you have passion to help people, there is no other field better than healthcare. This field not only allows you to show your love towards people but enables you learn new meaning of helping people. In order to make a foray into this sector, the very first thing you need to do is to join one of the healthcare courses to gain the professional knowledge and skills needed to do your job effectively.

Training in healthcare

The training in healthcare means that you are ready to handle necessary tasks that include getting up early morning and working till late at night. You may also need to work at a stretch with your patients to ensure they quickly get back to their normal health.

Before you take a look on the available healthcare courses, you should check what the necessary educational qualifications you need to take to become eligible for the course. Not only classroom training but practical training is also needed to get the real experience. After completing the course, you need to update yourself on latest health issues and events.

Another most important thing to ensure is to join a reputed medical college to get the best-in-class medical education that will help you serve the people in the best possible way.

Basic information about healthcare

Every one of us comes across the word healthcare in our daily life. It is the care given by doctors, practitioners, nurses or practically anyone related to healthcare. It not only includes treatment and diagnosis of diseases but also for injury or other physical or mental problems faced by us. It also includes the care given for prevention of diseases. The economic and social conditions of a country decide the quality of healthcare given to its citizens. Each country has its own policy regarding health care.

Governments have complete control over the health care sector in some countries whereas in other countries, private enterprises control the healthcare sector leading it into competition and making it a business.

Just like food, water and shelter, healthcare is also one of the basic necessities of an individual. It is considered very important and that is why World Health Organization was formed by the United Nation Organization. It has assisted in providing health care to all the countries of the world especially the third world countries. It played an eminent role in wiping away small pox completely. It is working on many other diseases especially the communicable ones. They not only provide healthcare but also educate people about various diseases.

Many sides of health care units

Various types of healthcare units are present which provides services for the good health of people.

The system of health care changes from nation to nation.

Doctors, nurses and other medical staffs are employed in these healthcare industries.

The clinic members are appointed to take care of their patients and to check for the amount of drugs provided to the patient.

Research members of these industries carry out various types of treatments which will help in curing diseases that might crop up in future.

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